October 23, 2000
More than 7,000 anticipated for BGCT in Corpus
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___CORPUS CHRISTI--A heavy dose of much-anticipated business will be balanced with regular times of worship and reports from a host of ministries during the annual session of the Baptist General Convention of Texas next week.
___More than 7,000 messengers from churches across the state are expected to attend the two-day meeting at the Bayfront Convention Center in Corpus Christi. Attendance is projected to be high because of interest in several business items.
___Messengers will consider recommendations from several committees regarding changes in relationship between the BGCT and Southern Baptist Convention. If approved, those proposals would make the BGCT the first state Baptist convention to loosen its ties with the SBC as a result of the national convention's rightward shift over the last 20 years.
___Most of the potentially controversial business items will be considered during the convention's opening meeting Monday afternoon, Oct. 30. Beginning at 2:20 that afternoon, messengers will hear recommendations on seminary funding, SBC funding and Texas ministries funding, as well as reports from special committees studying the basis of associational formation and the relationship between churches dually aligned with multiplestate conventions.
Convention highlights
___Monday afternoon:
___Executive director's report; Texas 2000 celebration; Executive Board report; Seminary Study Committee report; budget; business.
___Monday evening:
___President's address;
___business.
___Tuesday morning:
___Business; convention
___sermon.
___Tuesday evening:
___Missions celebration.
___At 4:50 that afternoon, messengers will take a second vote on a proposed constitutional change that would allow members of out-of-state churches affiliated with the BGCT to serve as trustees of BGCT-related agencies and institutions. The change received overwhelming support during a first reading last year but must be approved a second time before becoming effective.
___The convention will begin at 12:45 p.m. with a time of worship led by Mike Farnell, minister of music at Gambrell Street Baptist Church in Fort Worth, and a theme interpretation. Theme interpretations throughout the two-day event will feature video testimonies from Texas Baptists.
___Also Monday afternoon, Charles Wade will present his first executive director's report since becoming the convention's top administrative staff member in February.
___The Monday afternoon meeting also will include a celebration of the soon-to-be-concluded Texas 2000 emphasis on missions, ministry and evangelism. The State Missions Commission and Christian Life Commission will report, as will the convention's various nominating committees and the Baptist distinctives committee.
___The first round of officer elections also will be held Monday afternoon.
___The Monday evening gathering will begin at 6:30 p.m. with worship led by the Hardin-Simmons University Concert Choir. Other features include reports from the Christian Education Coordinating Board and Human Welfare Coordinating Board, miscellaneous business, election of officers and the annual president's message, delivered by Clyde Glazener, pastor of Gambrell Street Baptist Church.
___The Tuesday morning meeting also will begin with worship. After a variety of ministry reports and a period of miscellaneous business, the annual convention sermon will be given by Jim Denison, pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.
___The convention will recess Tuesday afternoon, to facilitate the annual meetings of Texas Woman's Missionary Union and Texas Baptist Men.
___In the closing meeting Tuesday evening at 6:40 p.m., worship will be led by Rejoice, a women's ensemble from Primera Iglesia Bautista of Corpus Christi.
___After several recognitions and reports, the major part of the program will be devoted to a missions celebration.
_____For a complete listing of major business items coming before the convention, see the Messenger Guide.
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